Master of Science inLandscape Design

Ronda M. Brands is a horticulturist and landscape designer with Lynden B. Miller Public Garden Design. Current and ongoing projects include the British Garden at Hanover Square; the Entry Garden at Hudson River Park, Chelsea Cove; reinvigoration of the Heather Garden at Fort Tryon Park; consultation and design for the Museum of Modern Art, Columbia University, Princeton University, and Stony Brook University; and the gardens at the U.S. Supreme Court. Brands has edited several books on public parks and horticulture for Norton Publishing, including Lynden B. Miller’s award-winning Parks, Plants, and People: Beautifying the Urban Landscape and Alexander Garvin’s Public Parks: The Key to Livable Communities. Brands is a graduate of the New York Botanical Garden’s School of Professional Horticulture, with additional training in landscape design from Harvard University’s Landscape Institute. She is a member of the Metro Hort Group (New York) and the American Horticultural Society and serves on the advisory council for the New York Botanical Garden’s School of Professional Horticulture. Her garden design awards include selection of her team’s designs for both the spring and summer student gardens at The New York Botanical Garden (2008) and best shade garden award from Fenway Community Gardens (2004). Prior to her work in garden design, Brands worked for nearly two decades in arts administration for nonprofit organizations, including the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and the New England Conservatory of Music. In addition to her degree in horticulture, she holds a master’s degree in English from St. Bonaventure University and a bachelor’s degree in English from Wells College.